SG Americas Securities LLC Cuts Holdings in ePlus inc. $PLUS

SG Americas Securities LLC trimmed its position in ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) by 62.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 5,372 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 9,115 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in ePlus were worth $404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of ePlus by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,453,215 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $215,147,000 after buying an additional 8,146 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of ePlus by 0.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,019,061 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $73,474,000 after acquiring an additional 8,956 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of ePlus by 9.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 471,405 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $33,474,000 after acquiring an additional 39,012 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of ePlus by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 298,050 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $26,140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC bought a new stake in ePlus during the fourth quarter worth $24,681,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.95, for a total value of $89,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,014,532.60. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $115,757. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ePlus Stock Performance

Shares of ePlus stock opened at $87.86 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.02. ePlus inc. has a 52-week low of $62.11 and a 52-week high of $93.98. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.03.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The software maker reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $581.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $569.25 million. ePlus had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 11.36%. Equities research analysts forecast that ePlus inc. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ePlus Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 17th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from ePlus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. ePlus’s payout ratio is 22.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on PLUS shares. Zacks Research cut ePlus from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered ePlus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut ePlus from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, ePlus currently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

ePlus Company Profile

ePlus Inc (NASDAQ:PLUS) is a technology solutions provider that helps enterprises and public-sector organizations maximize the value of their information technology investments. The company specializes in designing, implementing and managing complex IT infrastructures, with a focus on security, cloud computing, data center modernization and unified communications. By combining consulting services with software license management and hardware procurement, ePlus delivers end-to-end solutions that align with its clients’ strategic objectives.

The company’s offerings include cybersecurity assessments and managed security services, hybrid and public cloud deployments, network architecture and optimization, and collaboration platforms.